King v. Bruce

197 S.W.2d 830, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 757
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 15, 1946
DocketNo. 14790.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 197 S.W.2d 830 (King v. Bruce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. Bruce, 197 S.W.2d 830, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 757 (Tex. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

J. P. King, Jr., instituted this suit in a District Court of Tarrant County, by procuring the issuance of a writ of garnish-iment against First National Bank of Fort Worth, Texas, based upon a judgment held by him against Homer L. Bruce for approximately $2,700.

Because of an adverse judgment entered against him, King has appealed and will be referred to by us as appellant. In response to an interpleader of the garnishee First National Bank of Fort Worth, Homer L. Bruce and his wife Clara C. Bruce appeared and made answer, and will be referred to by us as appellees except when necessary to mention them individually.

In the interest of clarity it becomes necessary for us to give a somewhat extended statement of the nature of this controversy. We shall take our statement largely from those made by appellant and appellees in their respective briefs.

*832 Appellant obtained a judgment in a district court of Tarrant county against appel-lee Homer L. Bruce, for $2,701.20, on March 19, 1946.

On March 20, 1946, appellant procured the issuance of a writ of garnishment against garnishee, based on his judgment. Garnishee answered in the customary way, to the effect that it did not have any funds or effects in its hands belonging to Homer L. Bruce, but that there was an account with it for $2,900. in the name of Clara C. Bruce, wife of Homer L. Bruce, and that it did not know whether said fund was the separate property of Clara C. Bruce or community property of her and her husband, Homer L. Bruce; it interpleaded appellant and both appellees and prayed that the court adjudicate the rights of appellant and appellees.

Appellees appeared and, by a nine page answer, pleaded and attached thereto a contract entered into between them on March 12, 1946, in the City of New York. That at all times material to this controversy, they were husband and wife, domiciled in Texas, and had adult children also domiciled in Texas. That the $2,900 on deposit in garnishee bank was at all times since its deposit therein on March 14, 1946, the separate property of appellee Clara C. Bruce. That prior to the execution and performance of the contract mentioned, they had on deposit in a Texas Bank $5,800 community funds; that at the time of the execution of the contract in New York, in the presence of his wife and with her consent, Homer L. Bruce drew a check on the Texas bank for $5,800 and opened an account for that amount in a New York Banking institution. He then drew his check on that account for $4,000 and requested that it be paid in 4,000 silver dollars to be placed by the bank in two containers, labeled “Container No. 1” and “Container No. 2” respectively. He then drew his check No. 2, against said account for $1,000, and the New York Bank gave him in return therefor two of its cashier’s checks, each for $500, payable jointly to appellees. At the same time and place appellee Homer L. Bruce drew on said bank his two checks Nos. 3 and 4, for $400 each payable to appellees jointly. Appellees then and there endorsed one each of said two cashier’s checks, and Homer L. Bruce’s checks Nos. 3 and 4, to the respective ap-pellees. They further alleged that at the same time and place they entered into a written contract between themselves while the two containers above mentioned and the checks above set out were physically present, and under the terms of the contract, “Container No. 1”, with its 2,000 silver dollars and one of the cashier’s checks for $500 and Homer L. Bruce’s check for $400, were delivered to and received by Clara C. Bruce; and the other “Container No. 2” and the other cashier’s check and one of Homer L. Bruce’s checks were delivered to and received by Homer L. Bruce. That immediately after the execution of the contract and the receipt of the items above mentioned, they each deposited in the New York bank in her and his own names respectively said amounts aggregating to each $2,900. In return for each of said deposits, the New York Bank issued to each of the appellees its cashier’s check for $2,900. That thereafter, on March 14, 1946, appellee Clara C. Bruce opened an account with the garnishee bank by depositing therein the New York Bank’s check for $2,900. The provisions and conditions of the contract between appellees, executed and performed in New York, were fully pleaded and claimed to control the acts of appellees, so as to constitute the $2,900 in the garnishee bank at the time the writ of garnishment was served the separate property of appel-lee Clara C. Bruce. They prayed that appellant take nothing by his garnishment proceedings and that the funds be declared the separate property of Clara C. Bruce.

Appellant, by supplemental petition, admitted the truth of appellee’s answer relating to the original $5,800 being community property, that appellees executed the contract between themselves in New York, each delivered to the other the respective sums of money and checks pleaded by them, and that the contract contained provisions to the effect that each of appellees was acquainted with the laws of New York and that they expressly declared in the contract that the laws of New York should apply to their acts in consummating same. But expressly denied the applicability of the New *833 York laws to said contract and alleged that the laws of Texas govern and control the same. He further denied that Clara C. Bruce obtained and acquired said $2,900 as her separate property thereunder. Further, that if the contract had been made in Texas the title to said funds would not have passed from the community estate of appellees to the separate estate of said Clara C. Bruce. He again prayed for judgment against the garnishee bank and appellees for recovery of said $2,900 as the community property of appellees.

The contract between appellees made in New York and specially pleaded by them consists of four single-spaced typewritten pages, and the many paragraphs therein are unnumbered. It is well to note some of its provisions and in doing so we must designate by numbers some matters necessary to point out. The pertinent parts are as follows:

1. Homer L. Bruce was designated First party and his wife Clara C. Bruce as Second party.

2. The contract was executed between the appellees in the City of New York. The containers of two thousand dollars each and the cashier’s checks of the New York Bank and the checks of First party were all physically present when the contract was entered into.

3. It recites the fact that the parties previously had on deposit in a Texas bank $5,800 of community funds; that First party transferred that fund to the New York Bank and there opened an account in his own name. It gives in detail the manner in which Homer L. Bruce, by his check withdrew $4,000 and how it was paid in 4,000 silver dollars in two containers, and the issuance by the bank of its cashier’s checks and the two checks made by said Homer L. Bruce, and the endorsements thereon, all as pleaded by appellees.

4. That the parties desired by said contract that the respective amounts of $2,900 each should thereafter become the separate property of each.

5. “The parties hereto do not desire to accomplish this through mutual gifts but desire and intend to accomplish it by contract and transfer between themselves in consideration of the mutual agreements herein contained.”

6.

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Bluebook (online)
197 S.W.2d 830, 1946 Tex. App. LEXIS 757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-bruce-texapp-1946.